Sugar Pine

More info for the terms: basal area, duff, fire severity, fire suppression, forest, fuel, fuel moisture, litter, prescribed fire, severity, tree, wildfire

The Research Project Summary Plant response to prescribed burning with varying season,
weather, and fuel moisture in mixed-conifer forests of California provides information
on prescribed fire and postfire response
of many plant community species including sugar pine.

Near the Plumas National Forest, prescribed fire in a mixed-conifer-California
black oak forest with a sugar pine component successfully reduced fuel load.
When a wildfire burned through the site previously burned under prescription,
fire severity and fire suppression costs were less compared to adjacent land
where fire had been excluded [27]. For further information on this study, see the Research Paper by Moghaddas [27].

A fall prescribed fire in the Tharp Creek Watershed of Sequoia National Park
produced 17.2% and 11.7% average annual sugar pine mortality on 2 white fir-mixed
conifer sites monitored for 5 years after fire. Mortality was concentrated  in the
subcanopy. The fire burned from 23 to 26 October 1990. Relative humidity during
the day was 21% to 30% and at night was 30% to 40%. Fuel moisture levels in the
litter and duff averaged 28%. For 100-hour and 1,000-hour fuels, moisture levels
were 14% and 64%, respectively. At the time of ignition, air temperatures were
50 to 61 °F (10-16 °C) and winds were calm. The fire was a combination of backing and strip headfires with flame lengths of 0.16 to 7.9 feet (0.05-2.4 m).
One-hour, 10-hour, and 100-hour fuels were reduced by 96%, 77%, and 60%, respectively.
Tree (≥4.6 feet (1.4 m)) mortality was evaluated before and after fire as
well as from an unburned reference site. Basal area (m²/ha) changes were also
monitored before and after the fire. Mean annual percent change in sugar pine basal
area increased by an average of 0.17% and 1.39% on the 2 burned sites before the fire
compared to the control site.  From 1989 to 1994 (includes 1 year of prefire data),
sugar pine basal area was reduced 4.28% to 15.67% on the burned sites compared to
the control [28]. For more information, see the entire Research Paper by Mutch and
Parsons [28].

sugar pine

More info for the term: cover

Sugar pine is used for cover by wildlife.  Early in sugar pine
development, large mammals use dense stands as hiding and thermal cover.
Mature trees are used by arboreal species such as birds, squirrels, and
other small mammals.  Old-growth sugar pine is prime habitat for cavity
nesters such as woodpeckers and owls [16].

Sugar pines may live 400 to 500 years and are second only to giant
sequoia (Sequoia gigantea) in total volume.  A record sugar pine in
California measured 216 feet (66 m) tall and 122 inches (310 cm) in
d.b.h.  Trees up to 250 feet (76 m) tall and 10 feet (3 m) in diameter
have been reported.  Mature sugar pine cones are among the largest of
all conifers, averaging 12 inches (30 cm) in length, and can reach 22
inches (56 cm) long.  Its needles are 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and have
five to a cluster.  Sugar pines pyramidal crown has whorls of horizontal
branches with several conspicuously longer than others.  Its sap
contains a sugary substance [7,16,21].

Sugar pine extends from the western slope of the Cascade Range in
north-central Oregon to the Sierra San Pedro Mártir in Baja California.
Its distribution is almost continuous through the Klamath and Siskiyou
mountains and on western slopes of the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada.
Smaller and more disjunct populations are found in the Coast Range of
southern Oregon and California, Transverse and Peninsula ranges of
southern California, and east of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada crests.
Its southern extremity is an isolated population high on a plateau in
the Sierra San Pedro Mártir in Baja California, Mexico.  Over 80 percent
of its distribution is in California [16,21].

More info for the term: fire regime

Sugar pine is very resistant to low- to moderate-severity fires.  It has
adapted a thick, fire-resistant bark and open canopy that retards aerial
fire spread.  Young sugar pine seedlings prefer bare mineral seedbeds
[2,3].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

Prescribed burning has been found to be an effective management
treatment that will destroy infected stands of sugar pine where dwarf
mistletoe and other diseases have rendered stands unmerchantable [1].
Dead sugar pine is susceptible to blue stain fungus in the sapwood;
however, the heartwood is very durable.  Salvagable trees may be found
up to 17 years after being killed by fire [15].

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More info for the term: phanerophyte

Phanerophyte

More info for the term: mesic

Sugar pine is found on a variety of sites from moist, steep, north- and
east-facing slopes, to more mesic, south-facing slopes.  The fuels under
sugar pine are generally heavy with deep soils.

Climate:  Temperature and precipitation vary widely throughout the range
of sugar pine.  The general weather pattern consists of hot, dry
summers and cool, wet winters.  Precipitation during July and August is
usually less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) per month and summertime relative
humidities are low.  Most precipitation occurs between November and
April, mostly in the form of snow at middle elevations.  Total
precipitation varies from 33 to 69 inches (83-173 cm) per year [16].

Soils and topography:  Soil parent material include rocks of volcanic,
granitic, and sedimentary origin.  Soils formed from peridotite or
serpentinite typically support sugar pine stands of inferior growth and
quality.  The most extensive soils supporting sugar pine are
well-drained, moderately to rapidly permeable, and slightly acidic to
neutral pH (7.0).  Best development of sugar pine is on mesic soils with
sandy to clayey loam textures.  Much of the terrain occupied by sugar
pine is steep and rugged.  Sugar pines are equally distributed on all
aspects at lower elevations but grow best on warm exposures as elevation
increases.  Optimum growth occurs on gentle terrain at middle elevations
[16].

Elevation:  Sugar pine ranges from near sea level in the Coast Range to
more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in the Transverse Range.  Elevational
limits increase with decreasing latitude.  Typical elevational ranges
are as follows [16]:
                   Cascade Range:  1,100 to  5,400 feet (335-1,645 m)  
                   Sierra Nevada:  2,000 to  7,500 feet (610-2,285 m)
         Sierra San Pedro Mártir:  7,056 to  9,100 feet (2,150-2,775 m)
Transverse and Peninsular Ranges:  4,000 to 10,000 feet (1,220-3,000 m)

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

   207  Red fir
   211  White fir
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir
   231  Port-Orford-cedar
   232  Redwood
   234  Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone
   244  Pacific ponderosa pine - Douglas-fir
   246  California black oak
   247  Jeffrey pine
   249  Canyon live oak

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES27  Redwood
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the terms: forest, shrub

   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K006  Redwood forest
   K007  Red fir forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K010  Ponderosa shrub forest
   K034  Montane chaparral

Sugar pine is rated as intermediate in fire tolerance.  Young sugar
pines are susceptible to low- to high-severity fires.  Mature trees can
survive most fires, suffering only bole scorch.  Sugar pine
susceptibility to secondary attack by insects and disease following fire
is rated as low [3].

Birds and mammals use sugar pine as a source of food and shelter.
Douglas' squirrels and white-headed woodpeckers have been noted to
occupy sugar pine trees [16].

More info for the terms: codominant, forest, mesic, woodland

Sugar pine usually occurs in mixed-conifer forest stands with a wide
variety of overstory associates including ponderosa and Jeffrey pine
(Pinus ponderosa and P. jeffreyi), California red fir (Abies magnifica),
white fir (A. concolor), noble fir (A. procera), and Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii) [4,21].  In southern California, sugar pine is
characteristically found in vegetation types of the woodland and
timberland chaparral zones.  Canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis) is
found with sugar pine on more mesic sites, while at higher elevations
sugar pine occurs with mountain whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus), Parry
manzanita (Arctostaphylos parryana var. pinctorum), and bush chinquapin
(Chrysolepsis sempervirens) [14].

Publications listing sugar pine as a codominant species in plant
vegetation types (vts) or community types (cts) are listed as follows:

Area                   Classification                       Authority
----                   --------------                       ---------
s CA                    forest (vts)                        Horton 1960
s CA                    forest (cts)                        Thorne 1977
  CA                    forest (cts)                        Thorne 1976

More info for the term: tree

Tree

More info for the term: cone

Sugar pine is planted on a vast scale in Oregon and California, and also
has been tried in several countries around the world.  Large-scale
plantings, however, are few due to establishment difficulties and
restrictive site requirements for good growth [21].  Sugar pine does not
self-prune; therefore, high-quality clear-lumber requires the pruning of
lower limbs.  It is the most tolerant to oxidant air pollution among its
coniferous associates [8,16].

Disease:  Sugar pine is highly susceptible to white pine blister rust
caused by the fungus Cronartium ribicola.  Among commercially important
North American white pines, sugar pine is the most susceptible to this
disease.  Infected seedlings and young trees are inevitably killed by
cankers girdling the main stem.  Incidence and intensity of infection on
sugar pine are highest in Oregon and northern California and become
progressively less to the south, as the climate becomes warmer and
drier.  Dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium californicum) may seriously damage
infected trees, but spread is slow and can be controlled by sanitation
cutting [13,16,21].

Insects:  The most damaging insect threatening sugar pine is the
mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae).  During periods of
drought, other insects such as the red turpentine beetle (D. valens) and
California flathead borer (Melanophila californica) usually attack
unhealthy trees and those under moisture stress.  The sugar pine cone
beetle (Conophthorus lambertianae) is extremely destructive to
developing second-year cones [5,16].

Animals:  Small mammals such as pocket mice, jumping mice, chipmunks,
and ground squirrels forage on young seedlings, thus reducing
regeneration on disturbed sites [3].

     CA  NV  OR  MEXICO

Native Americans used the pitch from sugar pine to repair canoes and to
fasten arrowheads and feathers to shafts [2].

Sugar pine is considered low in palatability to livestock and wildlife.

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Seasonal growth durations of sugar pine at various elevations in the Sierra
Nevada are as follows [11]:

                   Height           Radial
                   Growth*          Growth
                   ------           ------
Start (days)**       146              107
Start (date)       May 26         April 17
Length (days)         51              129
Rapidity (days)       15               46

* An 8-year average.
** Number of days from January 1.

More info for the term: seed

   off-site colonizer; seed carried by wind; postfire years 1 and 2
   off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2

More info for the terms: basal area, cone, epigeal, fresh, litter, monoecious, seed, stratification

Sugar pine does not sprout, but young trees can be rooted from cuttings.
Its primary regeneration strategy is via seed [3,16].

Flowering and fruiting:  Sugar pine is monoecious.  Reproductive buds
are set in July and August, but are not discernible until late the next
spring.  Time of pollination ranges from late May to early August,
depending on elevation.  Female strobili are approximately 1 to 2 inches
(2.5-5.0 cm) long when pollinated and may double in size by the end of
the growing season.  Fertilization occurs the following spring,
approximately 12 months after pollination.  Dates of cone opening range
from mid-August at low elevations to early October at high elevations.
Sugar pine does not become a good cone producer until it has attained a
diameter of about 30 inches (75 cm) or is about 150 years old [2,16].

Seed production and dissemination:  Mature trees produce large amounts
of seeds, averaging up to 150 seeds per cone.  In good crop years, the
proportion of sound seeds is usually high (67 to 99 percent) but in
light crop years can fall as low as 28 percent.  Seed shed may begin in
late August at low elevations and at higher elevations is usually
complete by the end of October.  Seeds are large and heavy, averaging
2,100 seeds per pound (4,630/kg).  Seeds are not dispersed great
distances by wind, and 80 percent fall within 100 feet (30 m) of the
source.  Birds and small mammals aid in seed dissemination [16].

Seedling development:  Sugar pine seeds may lie dormant, but dormancy
can be broken by a 60 to 90 day stratification.  Fresh seed may
germinate with a 90 percent success rate if adequately ripened, cleaned,
and stratified.  Losses due to unprepared seedbeds, drought, insects,
and rodents may be high.  Germination is epigeal.  Seedlings rapidly
grow a deep taproot when seeds germinate on mineral soil.  Seedlings
will germinate on both litter and bare mineral soil, but development is
slow under shade conditions.  After 2 years, taproots range from 22 to
40 inches (56-102 cm) deep.  Planting sugar pine has met with some
failure.  A low drought tolerance may be the determining factor.  Sowing
stratified seed in February or March extends the growing season and
produces healthy seedlings of plantable size in one season [4,16].

Growth and yield:  Early growth of sugar pine is slow compared to
ponderosa pine but increases rapidly in the pole stage and continues
through maturity.  On favorable sites, growth increments in basal area
of 2.5 percent or more can be sustained for up to 100 to 150 years.  The
best growth can be found between 4,500 to 6,000 feet (1,370-1,830 m) in
the central Sierra Nevada, between the American and San Joaquin Rivers.
Sugar pine is semitolerant to shade and may exhibit poor growth if
seedlings are enclosed by brush.  Sugar pine is a deep-rooted species
that is not susceptible to windthrow [9,16,21].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

   1  Northern Pacific Border
   3  Southern Pacific Border
   4  Sierra Mountains

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More info for the terms: climax, forest, natural

Sugar pine is primarily an early-seral to seral species.  It is
rarely found in pure stands.  When sugar pine is found to be the dominant
species in old-growth stands, it most often was dominant to begin with
or released by natural causes.  White fir would usually be the climax
species in mixed conifer forest in the absence of any natural
disturbances.  When disturbance does occur, it creates gaps in which
sugar pine is well adapted to grow [3,4,16,25].

The currently accepted scientific name of sugar pine is Pinus
lambertiana Dougl. [24]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties,
or forms.

High-grade sugar pine lumber is sought after for its dimensional
stability and workability.  The wood is light and resists deformity.  It
is easily milled and is favored for molding, window and door frames,
window sashes, doors, and other special products like piano keys and
organ pipes [16].